


A Home Not Yet Forgotten

by angryplantbabe



Category: Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-22
Updated: 2018-03-22
Packaged: 2019-04-06 07:44:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14052219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angryplantbabe/pseuds/angryplantbabe
Summary: A year ago, Inej set sail with her crew to destroy slavers on the open sea. Now she's back in Ketterdam, for the first time since she left.





	A Home Not Yet Forgotten

After a year of nothing but the open, briny sea, Ketterdam almost overwhelmed Inej. She had to linger on the deck of her ship for a moment to adjust to it all, the looming buildings, the choking grey sky, the cacophony of voices. A gust of wind knocked against her braid, and the familiar stench almost made her gag.

_Home_ , a part of her whispered.

She heard Specht approach, but didn’t turn around. “Good to be back, isn’t it?” he asked her.

The last time she’d docked in this city, Van Eck had taken her prisoner. And before that, she’d been hauled out of a slaver ship and sold for a few hundred kruge. Now, as she surveyed the mess of streets, she thought of the ships she’d smashed to rubble, the people she’d freed.

“I thought it would be completely different,” Inej said. “But it’s the same, just more.”

Specht laughed. “It’s only been a year. Give it some time and you might not recognize it at all.”

Inej didn’t believe that. No matter how Ketterdam changed, her heart would always recognize its energy, turbulent and dark and knowing.

She nodded goodbye to the crew and jumped from the ship, landing lightly on her feet. The first time she’d set foot on land after setting sail, when she’d taken her parents back to Ravka, it had taken her a moment to become reaccustomed to the solidity. But since then, she had stopped at countless ports in Ravka or the Wandering Isle to help the freed slaves find their way back home. She could switch between the rhythm of the waves and the ground with ease.

Fifth Harbor’s chaos absorbed Inej with gusto. A flood of tourists was headed towards West Stave, but she pushed against them until she left the harbor and found her way into the Zelver District. There, she chose a good, tall building and began to scale its wall.

The windowsills and tiny cracks were much different than the masts of ships, yet equally comforting.  _I’ve still got it_ , she thought to herself as she climbed. From the roof, Ketterdam sprawled out on all around. Inej paused to observe the city. East Stave wasn’t visible, but the Exchange was, and the corner of her mouth crooked into a smile.

After a moment, she pulled herself away and leapt from building to building. In the evening light, it almost felt as if she were back in the Dregs, shimmying down a pipe, dashing across a canal. The illusion lasted until she reached the Van Eck mansion, and then her stomach fluttered.

Inej had debated knocking at the door, but for old time’s sake, she snuck through a second-story window into an unfamiliar part of the mansion. Slipping through the halls, she eventually heard the faint sound of piano and followed it. A grin spread across her face.

She paused at a doorway. Just through the other room, Jesper and Wylan sat, their backs toward her, pressed close together, and Marya Hendriks dabbed thoughtfully at an easel. Jesper murmured something, making Wylan chuckle.

Inej cleared her throat. The two of them whirled around. Jesper’s guns were at his hands in an instant. Then recognition set it, illuminating their faces.

“Inej!” Jesper pulled her in for a hug.

They stayed up until dawn swapping stories over plates of waffles. Inej regaled them with tales of daring knife fights and hulls smashed together. In return, Jesper and Wylan told her that life was quiet but busy. Although they were newcomers to the market, Wylan’s ingenuity had gained him a small measure of respect, not to mention the value of Kaz’s and the Counsel of Merchants’ advice. Jesper was tentatively planning a trip to Ravka to train with Grisha Fabrikators. In the meantime, he’d been helping Wylan run his empire. Marya had improved greatly, and the courts had overturned the Transfer of Authority that Jan Van Eck had used to rob her of her property. Van Eck’s trial had been all that the town talked of for months. He didn’t hang, but life in jail was the next best thing. Inej thought of hands pinning her down to a surgeon’s table, of a heavy mallet, and she smiled. Their glasses of champagne clinked together in a toast.

They soon moved on to news of the Barrel: Tante Heleen was out of business, and Pekka Rollins was nowhere to be found. At that news, Wylan asked for another round of champagne. Kaz had replaced Rollins as the new King of the Barrel, and if anyone thought it odd that a Van Eck was associating with him, no one had the courage to question Wylan’s character. Not after the horrors his father put him through.

“Speaking of Kaz,” Jesper said, sliding Inej a meaningful look. “Have you seen him yet?”

Inej had not. She’d debated visiting him first, going straight to the Slat once she set foot on land. But something in her held back. After a moment’s hesitation she replied, “I will tomorrow. First I wanted actual food.”

Jesper put a hand to his heart in mock offense. “I thought you loved me for my winning personality. Are you just using my boyfriend and me for our food?”

“Guilty as charged. Free food, soft beds— I’d be stupid not to take advantage of you.” She winked. It astonished her how much she’d missed their friendship, the playful banter.

Finally, Wylan began to yawn, so they decided to get some sleep. Inej was given the same room she’d stayed in before she left. The bed was much softer than the one on her ship, and she fell asleep almost instantly.

 

* * *

 

 

The next day, Inej picked her way across the rooftops of the Barrel as slowly as she could. Trepidation murmured quietly in her heart. How had the last year changed Kaz Brekker, Bastard of the Barrel?

The Slat had always been empty in the mornings, but today, she saw Dregs trickling in and out of the doorway. The faded, chipping black paint that she’d known had been replaced with a new, sleeker coat.

She entered through the gable window, moving across the rafters until she could see into the first floor office. Kaz wasn’t there, but for now she was content to watch the Dregs milling about. Anika and Imogen, holding hands, talked about the new addition to the Crow Club. Apparently it had opened a few weeks ago, with smashing success. Eager new faces strutted about in hideous Barrel fashion— even a whole year couldn’t give the Dregs style.

The tapping of a cane caught her attention. Inej stared at the doorway, where Kaz strode through. While his face and hair and cane were all the same, his tailored suit was sleeker, tighter, more expensive. As he entered the office, Pim handed him a stack of papers. Kaz nodded once.

Once Pim was gone, Kaz peeled off his gloves, and his eyes shot up to meet hers. “How was Wylan’s?” His voice, low and raspy, sounded just the same as it had a year ago.

Inej smiled despite herself. Of course he’d known she was back. He had eyes everywhere; if a Dime Lion came down with a cold, Kaz would know within the hour. And he’d always had a penchant for sensing her presence.

“Good,” she replied. “He said to tell you to come to dinner tonight.”

“I’m busy. How long are you staying?”

“A week.” Inej jumped down silently.

Silence reigned for a few breaths as he took in her appearance, her sea-stiff braid, her criss-crossed scars. Kaz swallowed and said, “You quite the legend here. Our very own Wraith, guarding the sea.”

She knew the stories. The swift little ship whose cannons put holes in the hulls of slave ships. The woman that dropped from the highest masts and slit your throat before you knew she was there. The children reunited with their families, huddled and hollow-eyed and choked with relief. Slavers spoke of her in hushed terror, and their victims spoke of her in quiet awe.

“And you look as though you’ve barely slept at all,” Inej noted. “Good to know some things never change.”

Kaz shrugged. “I have work to do. I sleep when it’s finished.” His dark eyes darted away from her, and one hand tightened on his cane. “It’s been a few months since your last letter. I was starting to wonder.”

He’d worried for her. That unexpected but of honesty, of vulnerability, eased some tension from Inej’s shoulders. “I was chasing a tip to the Wandering Isle and they tried to escape in the Bone Road.”

“You got them.” There was no question in his voice, only steady admiration.

She smiled and sat down on his desk. “It’s been a pretty good first year.” The first few months had been rocky as her crew struggled to come together, but slowly they’d fallen into place and earned their reputation ten times over.

Slowly, Kaz laid a hand on her knee. There was something soft in his eyes when he looked at her face and said, “You should celebrate.  _We_ should celebrate.”

“You? Since when do you do parties?” As the Dregs’ wraith, she’d spent many late nights at the Crow Club with Jesper and Anika and Pim, but Kaz had never joined them.

“I don’t,” he replied. “I was thinking waffles? At Elise’s over by Zentsbridge?”

Inej had eaten before she left Wylan’s, but her stomach grumbled at the thought of familiar Ketterdam food. “They’re always packed. It’s impossible to get a seat this late in the morning.”

“Not if you have reservations.”

“When did you—”

“Last night.” Kaz grinned.

The sight of such a carefree expression was as dizzying as it was charming. “You didn’t.”

“Table for two at half past noon. Unless you want to go somewhere else?”

Inej laughed. “That sounds wonderful, Kaz.” Leaning forward, she let her head rest atop his.

They stayed there for a moment, eyes closed, and then set out into Ketterdam. The city was a mix of new shops and old canals. Inej had traversed the streets beside Kaz many times, but now, holding his hand, it felt just like Ketterdam, both familiar and strange in all the best ways. Inej beamed and let the city envelop her.


End file.
